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Ranj's Bio

Ranjit Singh (a.k.a. Ranj!) makes music with a distinct Indian-Western flair that draws on the singer-songwriter and self-taught guitarist's love for rock music and heartfelt lyrics. He refers to his unique blend of music as “Indo-Canadian Folk”.

Ranj has wrapped up work on his third album, the acoustic The Man Cold featuring his signature melodies and distinctive “up-stroke” riffs from his 12-string guitar.

Ranj began his performing career in the mid-80's with Harbhajan Mann and Gursewak Mann. In the 90's he played with his brothers in the award-winning group Dal Dil Vog (winners of CFOX's “Vancouver Seeds 9” battle of the bands in 1994), where he performed with artists such as Jan Arden, 54-40 and Matthew Good. The band performed live on MuchMusic, toured throughout North America and India, and had videos that appeared on MuchMusic and MTV Asia.

After Dal Dil Vog disbanded, Ranj recorded a solo album titled Simple Man in 2008. He later brought together a group of talented musicians to form his next band, The Discriminators, with whom he recorded and released 2011's Found a Way Home, which delivered thoughtful lyrics and music that was inspired by Ranj's life and his legendary mentors, Neil Young and the late Indian ghazal singer Jagjit Singh.

More recently Ranj has returned to music as a solo artist, following his recovery from a serious vehicle collision. He's stronger than ever and happy to be pursuing his passion for music again, often collaborating with former band members and other talented musicians to meet the needs of a given venue, event, or project.

“ A-ha, here is a songwriter and a singer who understands who he is and where he sits in the world. ”

— Wyckham Porteous, singer/songwriter/playwright/producer

“ The album shows that it was time to... show himself as the musician and singer he has become. ”

— Tom Harrison

“ He takes chances though. He does this with an appreciable honesty and evident sincerity. Straight goods, likeable. ”

— Tom Harrison

If world-famous ghazal singer Jagjit Singh were to share a hookah with Neil Young, the result would be Indo-Canadian Folk.

“ For the first time in a long while, I realized that I was literally listening to — and almost touching — the ‘soul’ of an artist. ”